


A Prince at Christmas

by lunaofthemiste



Category: Battle for London in the Air (Roleplay), Three Kingdoms (Roleplay)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Modern AU, hire me Hallmark!, if the plot doesn't make sense its ok its a 2 hour hallmark movie, magic??, white people stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:49:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28160427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunaofthemiste/pseuds/lunaofthemiste
Summary: Rebecca and Tristan spend the holidays hosting an unusal guest.Sequel toBellmare: A Ghost Story in Ten Parts. Inspired by The Knight Before Christmas.
Relationships: Rebecca Tyler/Tristan Curtis
Kudos: 4





	1. Running

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a prince makes an unconventional escape.

The wound on Bryn’s side stung, but it wasn’t the end of the world. It was only a surface wound and would heal with time, but it wasn’t helpful for trying to escape the soldiers chasing him. He racked his mind trying to figure out who had sold him out as the leader of the rebellion - probably not Vittore, his former boss, who preferred to keep matters of betrayal in-house.

Then again, who knew how much Vittore knew and what he wanted. If ’Jay Chauncey,’ Bryn's alias and leader of the rebellion, was turned over to King Damiano, it probably reaped some sort of reward for the man.

Bryn could worry about motives later - for now, he needed to escape. He was running as fast as he could, using his magic to distract the soldiers on his tail. If they were listening for him, they would ideally be sent in the wrong direction. It was more magic, _reckless_ magic, than he had used in months, but his secrets didn’t matter anymore.

Well, most of his secrets. If Damiano found the presumed-dead Prince of Vravia in his grasp, he had no idea what would happen.

Unfortunately, he was so focused on escaping that he missed the soldier in front of him - the soldier that promptly punched him in the face. 

Bryn fell down, clutching his eye where he had been hit. If he survived, he knew he was probably going to have a bruise there. The soldier was relentless, proceeding to kick Bryn in the ribcage - at least he hadn’t been stabbed. Bryn was trying to get up, but it seemed like every time he tried he was being kicked back down. 

He thought the soldier was going to kill him. 

He wasn’t expecting him to burst into flames. 

The soldier screamed, running off to put the fire out, and in turn revealed a smirking Adena Fiontan behind him, one of the sorceresses who worked for the rebellion. “Ah, that never gets old,” she said to herself as she wiped her hands, ignoring Bryn’s look of confusion. 

“You set him on fire?” He managed to gasp out, finally catching his breath. A move like that wasn’t subtle, it would reveal that the rebellion worked with magic.

“Well, obviously. It was easy enough,” she shrugged, holding out a hand to Bryn to help him up, which he took. “You’ve managed to get yourself into trouble.” 

“No kidding,” Bryn sighed. “Why do I keep running into you?” 

“I heard that you were ratted out, figured you might need some assistance,” Adena explained, shrugging. “As usual, I was right.” 

Bryn scowled. “The last thing I need right now is an ‘I told you so’,” he told her, wincing at the wound on his right side, which was stinging more than he thought it should have.

Adena frowned, obviously noticing his wince. “That wound…I should get you to a healer. There’s one-” 

Bryn cut her off. “In town, I know. It’s too risky, I need to get out of here before they track me down again.” 

Adena started at him, almost sizing him up. “Alright, Chauncey, let’s get you out of the country,” she decided, in a manner that made Bryn suspicious. He didn’t have time to worry about her motivations when he heard voices coming closer. 

“Come on,” he said quickly, moving in the opposite direction. “I can hear them getting closer.” 

“I can’t hear-” Bryn shushed Adena, not wanting to deal with the sorceress’s questions about his enhanced hearing at the moment. They needed to run, and he needed to focus on which paths were clear. The all-familiar magic headache was returning, and it was starting to affect his focus. He winced, rubbing at his forehead only to pull his hand away with blood. 

How hard _had_ he been hit? 

Bryn honestly couldn’t remember and didn’t have any time to think when he noticed soldiers ahead, who were advancing towards them. 

“Get behind me,” Adena snapped, pushing Bryn behind her without waiting for a response. Her hands immediately engulfed in flames as she shot fire at the ground in front of the soldiers. 

Bryn frowned. “I’m not a child that needs to be protected,” he argued, walking next to her and drawing his sword. 

Adena rolled her eyes, making no effort to stop him. “Don’t get yourself killed,” she said as they both started to fight the approaching soldiers. Bryn was holding up as well as he could, relying more on his swordsmanship than his magic. However, he was getting tired, and he could see Adena was too, despite the cool, slightly crazy facade she was holding. 

They had managed to fight most of them off, and Bryn hoped that they would be able to keep running soon. He turned to Adena, just as a soldier behind her thrust his sword into her back. Not even Bryn’s sound powers could have warned her in time. 

Adena fell forward and Bryn ran over to her, hastily covering her ears so he could move forward with his plan. She moved, trying to pull his hands off unsuccessfully, unaware of what he was going to do. 

Bryn glared at the advancing soldiers, drew up his power, and screamed. 

It was an augmentation of his power, where he could destroy things with his voice. He wasn’t sure how he did it, but he knew it was only to be used in the highest emergencies. The soldiers dropped like flies, covering their ears and trying to avoid the nearby shattered glass. 

“We need to go,” Bryn said softly to Adena, noticing her own magic starting to heal her wound with each word she mumbled. Carefully, he helped her up so she could walk while leaning on him. 

“I knew you had magic,” Adena muttered after she had finished with her spell, a slight smirk on her face. 

“Well, the secret’s out then,” Bryn sighed, not even caring about Adena’s evident smugness. “Figured it couldn’t get any worse. Which way to Arithia?” He asked, frowning. 

Adena stepped away from him once they ducked into an alley. “Arithia is west, but you won’t be going with me,” she shook her head. 

“You’re injured, I’m not going to leave you here,” Bryn frowned. “They’ll kill you.”

Adena gave him a look. “If we lose you, we lose everything. You need to get somewhere safe - you’re drained _and_ you’re bleeding. Who taught you to use magic? You need to work on power management.”

“Is this the time for a lecture, really?” Bryn snapped. “You don’t even like me, you barely respect me, why cover for me now?”

“I can’t stand Jay Chauncey, but I’ve always stood by the Raolins,” Adena smirked. “Brynmor.” He felt himself pale, and he looked to a piece of a broken mirror behind Adena. Reflected back at him was the face of Prince Brynmor Raolin, not Jay Chauncey. The overuse of magic must have destroyed his illusion. 

Bryn scowled, both at the reveal of his true identity and the use of his full name. “It’s Bryn,” then, realizing, “How long have you known?” 

Adena sighed. “I suspected it for a while, but you lost your illusion after you screamed. You look like your father,” she held her hands up in front of him in a casting formation. “I’m sending you somewhere safe to recover, somewhere they’ll never find you.” 

“Did you not hear me? They’ll _kill_ you, do you not care?” Bryn hissed, pressing his hand up against his side harder. “I can manage.”

“Or you’ll die trying. Vravia needs a king,” Adena hushed him, speaking an incantation that Bryn would have understood if his magic education wasn’t abruptly cut off when he was twelve.

“Adena, don’t,” Bryn insisted, but it was no use. Smoke - he supposed it was magic smoke - swirled around him, blocking his vision. He tried to move to escape the spell or curse or whatever magic Adena had cast, but the smoke continued to follow him.

When the smoke cleared, he saw snow, which was worrying. It wouldn’t be time for snow in any of the four kingdoms yet, not for a few more months.

What had Adena done?


	2. Driving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a couple drives home from an eventful evening.

Rebecca Tyler-Curtis and her husband Tristan were sitting in the car in silence, still processing the events that had just occurred.

“Well, your mother seems...happy,” Tristan said eventually, his hands absent-mindedly tapping the steering wheel. “At least for a little bit.”

“I can’t believe Octavia showed up, you would think with the divorce being finalized last year we wouldn’t have to see her again,” Rebecca sighed, leaning back in her seat. “Do you think she was drunk?”

Tristan shrugged. “Probably, but she could never remember my name even when she was sober.”

Rebecca stifled a laugh. “How could I forget my husband, ‘You There’?” She joked, which Tristan smiled at. “At least Nathan will be at our place for the holidays. I doubt Octavia will make the drive.”

“She better not, I think that would be enough to ruin Nathan’s Christmas,” Tristan shook his head as he started up the car. 

“Our Christmas, too. I don’t want to see her at all,” Rebecca crossed her arms, looking out the window at the snow. “Wow, it’s really coming down. The car will be okay, right?”

“Should be,” Tristan nodded. “Keep an eye out, I might need a second set of eyes.”

Rebecca nodded in agreement. Tristan was right - it was certainly hard to see out at the rate the snow was falling, but that was to be expected since it was almost the end of December, just a few days before Christmas. Rebecca didn’t live very far from her mother, far enough where she had enough space from her but close enough to visit in case there were any issues. She had been worried ever since her father passed away and her brother’s divorce happened, but she had never expected Nathan’s ex to show up unexpectedly. Despite her feelings towards Octavia, Rebecca never wanted her brother Nathan to get hurt. On the bright side, Nathan was going to visit her for Christmas, which would be a good change of pace for him.

She had been watching through the windshield in front of her very intently when she suddenly saw a blur. Although she couldn’t quite make out what it was, her gut instinct told her to yell, “STOP!”

Tristan slammed on the brakes of their car just in time, though they both felt a thud at the front of the car. Her husband looked at her with worry. “What did we hit?” He asked, parking the car and getting out as fast as possible. Rebecca followed close behind, squinting as the snow hit her face.

She walked around to the front of the car and was surprised to find a man lying prone in front of the car. The man was a bit younger than her, with dark gold hair curled in ringlets that framed his face. His clothes were odd, period pieces that Rebecca would only see on television or a Renaissance fair. The biggest worry she had was the blood she could see, blood that was spilling into the snow. She looked up at Tristan, who was thinking the same thing.

“Shit,” they both said simultaneously. Rebecca would have called a jinx if it wasn’t a dire situation.

“We need to take him to a hospital,” Tristan said, leaning down to pick up the man. “Get the door to the backseat.”

“Got it,” Rebecca nodded, walking carefully to the other side of the car and opening the door to the back. Tristan was already carrying the man bridal-style, which was impressive considering the man was entirely dead weight. She climbed into the backseat, ready to help move the man in. Additionally, she leaned over and grabbed a roll of paper towels they had in the backseat - it was always good to be prepared.

Tristan lowered the man to the seat and the couple adjusted him until he appeared to be in the car. He tried closing the door slowly but was blocked by the scabbard the man had on his belt.

“Here, I got it,” Rebecca said, carefully finding the belt buckle for the scabbard and undoing it, which allowed Tristan to pull the scabbard away and place it on the floor of the backseat. He closed the door and got into the driver’s seat.

“Make sure he doesn’t fall over, okay?” Tristan said as Rebecca watched him program the location of a hospital into the navigation app in the car.

“Obviously,” Rebecca nodded, putting her seatbelt on. She started pulling some paper towels off the roll and pressing them to the wounds she could see on the man. Up close, he looked close to her age, possibly younger. “There’s no way just the car did this, right?” She asked Tristan as she examined his wounds. In particular, there was a gash across the man’s stomach on the opposite side of where the car would have hit him and a darkening bruise on his eye.

“I don’t know,” Tristan shook his head. “We just need to make sure he’s okay, whoever he is.”


	3. Recovering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which new surroundings are observed.

Bryn kept seeing flashes and hearing things, but he couldn’t tell what was real. He kept trying to piece together what had happened in his head, but none of it made sense.

It was snowing and there was a forest.

He saw a clearing with a few moving lights.

Some sort of...object? Creature? _Something_ hit him. That’s when the pain took over and he only heard parts of things happening for a while. Wherever he was - wherever Adena sent him - they seemed to not know him. He was grateful to not be recognized, but nothing could have prepared him for the sensations around him.

There were people in strange clothing asking him questions. He felt something odd stuck in his arm, and there was so much noise that something could have shattered. Something probably did shatter, he did remember hearing someone mention that.

Or was that just a dream?

Currently, he was lying in a bed in a strange room, surrounded by strange objects that he did not understand. Bryn did feel better, which was a small positive despite all of his instincts saying to run and fight and hide.

They had asked him who he was, and he gave the name he was used to giving - Jay Chauncey. When they asked him more questions, he decided to just pretend to not know anything. It seemed like the best option - as much as he was sure that they didn’t know who he was, _he_ couldn’t be sure they hadn’t heard of him, or where their loyalties were. Plus, most of the questions used words he didn’t understand, so feigning ignorance was the best option.

While he was lying in his room, pretending to sleep, he eavesdropped on a conversation right outside his room. He had deduced that the person in the white coat was some sort of healer, but he wasn’t sure who the others were.

“We have a name, Jay Chauncey, but that’s it. As far as we can tell, he has amnesia, but nothing came up on any of our scans,” the healer explained.

“Hm,” one of the people, a man, said. “Did he have any ID? We couldn’t find any when we checked.”

“Nothing on him. We asked someone to look for the name, but nothing’s come up.”

“So what happens to him now?” A new voice, this one a woman, asked.

“The scans are normal, there isn’t anything more we can do. Time will fix it, probably,” the healer said. “We’ve arranged for housing for him down at the police station, but it’s only temporary.”

A brief pause, and then, “We can take him in. We have plenty of space, and it’s one less thing for the police to worry about,” the woman said.

“Are you sure?” The healer asked.

Another pause. “We’re sure,” the man assured the healer. “As long as Jay is okay with it.”

Bryn weighed the options in his mind. He had no idea what a police station was, or who the police were, but it sounded worse than the man and the woman. Worst case scenario, he could probably fight off the man and the woman if there was trouble.

When he heard the door start to open, he pretended to wake up in front of the healer and the two people. 

“How are you feeling, Jay?” The healer asked, doing some sort of magic that made the bed rise up.

“Better, I think,” Bryn answered honestly. At the very least, the wounds from his battle with the soldiers felt better. “I still don’t remember anything, though,” he added in.

The healer nodded. “That’s understandable. Your memory should come back in a few days, it just takes time. Since your scans are fine we can release you, but since we can’t find an address of an emergency contact, we can either have you stay down at the station or with the Tyler-Curtis’s,” the healer gestured to the two people that entered the room with them. The woman was walking slightly in front of the man, her long dark hair standing out against the green coat she was wearing. The man behind her, presumably her husband, had blonde hair that appeared to be slicked back. Bryn wondered why their clothing and hair styles were so different, but he figured it would be rude to ask.

“Hi,” the woman waved. “My name is Rebecca, this is my husband, Tristan. We’re very sorry for hitting you with our car,” she said, and Bryn guessed that they were genuinely sorry about it.

He looked at both Rebecca and Tristan, trying to gauge if they were safe or not. “Are you sure I’m not intruding?” He asked as a precaution.

Tristan shook his head. “It’s the least we can do, we can’t have you spending the holidays at the police station.”

Bryn nodded slowly. “Thank you,” he agreed, hoping that he wasn’t making a mistake.


	4. Providing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which hospitality is extended.

Rebecca was beginning to second-guess if she made the right choice in bringing an amnesiac man home from the hospital, but Tristan was okay with it, so she was as well. Jay didn’t say much on the car ride back to their house, only looking out the window. She didn’t want to press him with questions, so she figured his silence was probably just the leftover medication still in his system.

Once they were inside their house, Rebecca gave Jay a tour. Their guest rooms were on the third floor of the house, which would be helpful in case Jay turned out to be dangerous. She led Jay upstairs, looking behind herself every few steps to make sure he was following. 

“This is your room,” Rebecca told Jay, gesturing to a very plain guest room. “The bathroom is through this door here,” she said, walking over to the door and opening it.

“Bathroom?” Jay asked, confused.

“Right, amnesia,” Rebecca nodded. “There’s a shower in here, as well as a sink and a toilet,” she pointed, hoping Jay understood what she said. “The shower is for bathing, the sink is for washing your hands, and the toilet is for...other things,” she alluded.

Jay nodded slowly. He had a look on his face that made Rebecca feel like he had no idea what was going on. “Where do I get the water?” He asked eventually.

“From the faucet,” Rebecca explained, turning it on to show him. Jay jumped slightly when the water came out, then stared at it for a moment in awe.

“How?” 

“Um, the water comes from the pipes connected to it, which are connected to a tank in the house, I think,” Rebecca attempted to explain. “I’m not good with plumbing, but I know that it works. If you turn this knob it gets warmer, and this knob makes it cooler. The shower works the same way, you turn the knob closer to red for warmer and blue for cooler.”

“Why is it called a shower?”

“It’s like a rain shower - the water falls down on you like rain,” Rebecca explained, opening the shower door and turning the shower on briefly. “See?”

“Yes,” Jay nodded, and Rebecca hoped he understood. 

“Okay, and the toilet, I should explain that too,” Rebecca decided. “You can put the seat up, it’s up to you, just try to get whatever deposits you have _in_ the toilet. When you’re done, just flush,” she explained, pressing the lever and flushing the toilet. Once again, Jay jumped at the noise, then frowned as the toilet flushed.

“Where does it go?” He asked, frowning.

“To sewage. We don’t need to worry about it unless it backs up,” Rebecca shook her head. “This here,” she gestured to the light switch, “turns the lights on and off. There’s one in the bedroom as well,” she said as she walked out of the bathroom, smiling at Tristan, who had just entered the room.

“I brought up some old clothes for Jay. I figured he wouldn’t want to wear the sweatpants and sweatshirt the hospital gave him,” Tristan said, placing them on the bed. “They’re from my brother, Avery, so they should fit you. Your other clothes are downstairs, but they’re a bit torn up.”

“Right,” Jay nodded. Rebecca noticed that he looked tired, and gave Tristan a look.

“There are some towels in the bathroom, and we’re downstairs if you need anything,” Rebecca assured Jay with a smile. “But for now, you should get some rest, you’ll feel better in the morning.”

“Right,” Jay said again, looking up at both Tristan and Rebecca. “Thank you very much,” he added. Something about his expression felt off to Rebecca, but she decided to ignore it for now. He was probably just nervous and confused.

“Good night,” Rebecca said as she walked out the door, Tristan following close behind and echoing the same sentiments as he pulled the door closed. They didn’t say anything until they were down the stairs to their room and the door was shut. “What do you think?” She asked her husband.

“He seems nervous and quiet,” Tristan shrugged, “but if he doesn’t know anything it’s understandable. He’ll probably feel better tomorrow.”

“I hope so,” Rebecca agreed, sighing. “I don’t know, I just have this feeling.”

“What?”

“That something’s off, that he’s hiding something, which is ridiculous because he has amnesia,” she explained, lying back on the bed. “I’m not crazy, right?”

“I know you’re not crazy, Becca, but maybe you’re reading into this too much,” Tristan said as he sat on the bed next to her. “Give him a chance tomorrow. If he really is hiding something, I’m sure there’s a reason. Remember, we’re strangers to him, he might not trust us.”

“But we’re so trustworthy,” Rebecca sighed, making eye contact with Tristan. “Maybe I am overthinking this.”

“It’s been a long day,” Tristan agreed. “We can sleep on this, see how he is tomorrow. If you find out he’s lying, I’m sure you’ll be able to find out why.”

“You’re so confident in my abilities,” Rebecca smiled at him. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Now, let’s get some sleep.”


	5. Trusting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which hesitant alliances are made.

Bryn awoke once again, this time in a somewhat familiar but still strange room. The events of the previous day were hazy, but once he opened his eyes the memories returned. Thankfully, his dreams had been quiet, probably thanks to whatever potions the healers used. The last thing he needed was his powers acting up.

He sat up in the bed, which was large, even by his standards. It felt like something he would have had if he was still a prince, not something that Rebecca and Tristan, who were not royalty, would have. Then again, there was a bathroom with magic water faucets, so maybe they were. He had been too tired last night to try and experiment with the contraptions - everything was so new and overwhelming to him, and that was just the bathroom. On the way home from the healer, he was certain he was hearing extra sounds of some sort, despite it not coming from Rebecca or Tristan.

Maybe he was losing it. Maybe that’s what Adena meant by keeping him safe.

Bryn stood up and decided to test out the shower mechanism in the bathroom. As he walked in, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror - at least there was one thing that was the same here. He noticed that he looked tired, maybe even a little thinner than he preferred - not that it mattered much, because he had always been on the skinny side, but this skinny was leaning closer to underweight. The wound on his side had been neatly stitched up, and only hurt slightly when he moved. His face, on the other hand, had a bruise right where he had been hit near his eye, but he was thankful he still _had_ an eye. He debated briefly using a healing spell on his wounds but decided against it. There was no evidence of magic in the Tyler-Curtis household, and he didn’t want to anger anyone by using more than he already had - eavesdropping on the couple’s conversation the previous night had almost been accidental.

The shower, thankfully, was easier to use than expected. Slightly alarming, but easy to use once he figured it out. Rebecca had been right - it _was_ like a rain shower! Once his shower was completed, he dressed in the strange clothes Tristan had left him, which felt strange on his skin. He felt oddly underdressed in the shirt and soft pants. Unfortunately, he had been informed that this was a ‘shoes-off household,’ whatever that meant, so there were no boots for him to wear.

He decided to make his way downstairs, feeling suddenly famished. Bryn supposed this made sense - he hadn’t eaten before the attack at the tavern. He was surprised to see Rebecca sitting at a table in the room she had introduced as the kitchen, working on what looked like a book opened the wrong way.

She looked up at him and smiled slightly. “Good morning, Jay,” she greeted. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Bryn answered honestly. 

“That’s good,” Rebecca nodded, getting up from her seat. “I assume you’re hungry, so I’ll grab you something. Do you want cereal or eggs?”

Bryn stared at her blankly for a minute. “What is cereal?”

“Right,” Rebecca nodded, opening a door in the wall, which revealed several packages. She grabbed one and pulled it out - the box read ‘Fruit Loops’. “This is Tristan’s favorite for some reason,” she shrugged, pulling out a bowl from another door in the wall. She placed the bowl on the counter and opened the box before she proceeded to pour the contents of the box into the bowl. “Try a few of these, if you like them I’ll get you more,” she said, sliding the bowl across the counter.

Bryn looked down at the very vibrantly colored circle objects in his bowl. None of them looked natural. “The box says fruit on it...this is not fruit,” he said after a while.

Rebecca shrugged. “It’s processed, so it’s fruit-flavored. I know it has sugar in it and a bunch of chemicals.”

“...Right,” Bryn nodded, hesitantly grabbing one pink-colored circle object from the bowl and putting it in his mouth. To his surprise, it tasted sweet, but not like fruit or anything else. “This is interesting,” he said eventually.

“I can make you eggs if you want?” Rebecca winced. “I usually just have tea in the mornings.”

“That might be better,” Bryn agreed, pushing the bowl of mysterious circle objects back. He sat down at the counter and watched Rebecca grab items from the other doors in the wall. This world really was strange.

“We were really worried about you, you know,” Rebecca said as she started to prepare the eggs. “It looked like you were in some sort of fight.”

“I…” Bryn hesitated, then remembered he had to keep up the lie, “I don’t remember. I must have done something bad.”

Rebecca nodded. “Well, we did bump you with our car. Injuries are to be expected.”

“I suppose,” Bryn agreed, absent-mindedly reaching for the chain he kept around his neck, only to realize it wasn’t there anymore. This was definitely cause for worry - the chain held the wedding rings of his parents, the last and only memento he had of them. It was priceless, he needed to get it back. 

He looked up and watched Rebecca cook more before bringing up the topic. “Were there any other items they found with me?”

“What do you mean?” Rebecca asked, answering his question with another question.

“I...I was just wondering, I mean, it seems odd that all I had were some torn clothes,” he rephrased, hoping it sounded natural.

Rebecca looked up at him, an unreadable look on her face. “There were two items: a sword and a necklace. Both yielded no clues towards finding your identity.”

“My identity?”

“There are no records for a ‘Jay Chauncey’ that looks like you, at least that’s what they said at the hospital,” Rebecca said as she flipped the eggs in the pan. “Additionally, none of my research yielded anything, including my searches for period re-enactors in the area.”

Bryn frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Rebecca smiled at him, but something seemed off about it. “I’ll tell you something about myself, Jay, I’m _very_ good at spotting liars. I also don’t like liars very much, especially those who happen to be in my house.”   
  
“You think I’m lying?” Bryn asked nervously.

“I’m very sure of it, so I’d appreciate it if you came clean and tell me whatever it is that you want before my husband comes home,” she said matter-of-factly.

“I’m not lying about most of it,” Bryn pointed out. “I don’t understand any of this,” he gestured widely to the house, “nothing makes sense. Why do you have a tree in the corner? Where does the water come from? Why are there multiple doors in this room?”

“What?” Rebecca asked, almost genuinely surprised by his outburst. 

“Nothing makes any sort of logical sense to me, I understand that you’re explaining it, but you use words that I don’t even know,” Bryn explained, more fired up than he meant to be.

Rebecca frowned as she removed the eggs from the pan. “So if you’re not lying about your confusion, then what are you lying about?” She asked.

Bryn sighed. “This might sound crazy, but my real name is Brynmor Raolin. I am the prince of a kingdom named Vravia that was taken over by another kingdom, Sivalon, when I was twelve. I’ve been hiding under another identity, Jay Chauncey, ever since. A few days ago, someone tipped off the soldiers in Sivalon. They attacked me, but I was able to escape with the help of a sorceress named Adena. She did...something that transported me here, then I got hit by your metal contraption,” he explained, losing hope as he watched Rebecca’s expression become more and more confused.

“Wait, let me get this straight,” Rebecca gave Bryn a skeptical look. “Your name is Brynmor and you’re a...prince from a lost kingdom?”

“I go by Bryn, but yes,” Bryn nodded. “I would have normally waited to see if you were trustworthy or not, but I don’t think you would have let me stay otherwise.”

“You expect me to believe that you came here using magic from a sorceress?” Rebecca asked. “That...that’s crazy, that’s implausible. Prince, maybe I can believe, but magic?”

“Magic is real, as much as many would like to pretend it isn’t,” Bryn admitted. “Many also are able to use its gifts.”

“I’m guessing you have magic too.”

“I do,” he said, frowning at Rebecca’s continued skeptical look. “You said you could tell if someone was lying, use that now to see if I am. As you can tell, I’m not.”

She sighed heavily. “You might be deluded,” Rebecca pointed out, “I don’t know, I need...proof or something.”

“Okay,” Bryn nodded. “Look at my face,” he instructed, using the same magic he’d used a thousand times before to alter his appearance. “See? This is how I hid my identity,” he explained.

Rebecca looked at his face, frowning. He could tell that she was definitely thinking hard. “How?” She asked eventually.

“Magic, specifically illusion-based magic. It was the specialty of one of my teachers,” he explained. “My own specialty is sound.”

“Like what?”

“Well, my hearing is very good, I can usually hear things no one else can, but I can do other things as well,” Bryn bit his lip, looking around for something before he realized the bowl with the mysterious objects was right in front of him. “If I drop the bowl, you’ll hear a sound, right?” He proposed, holding the bowl slightly above the counter and dropping it to show that it made a noise.

“Yes,” Rebecca nodded. “I see.”

“If I use my powers, I can block the noise,” He explained, dropping the bowl again, this time blocking out the sound it made. Once the bowl landed, he pushed it over to Rebecca. “You can try it.”

Rebecca hesitantly picked up the bowl and test-dropped it a few times, each time it landed without a sound. “This is impossible,” she remarked.

“It’s magic,” Bryn responded confidently.

Unfortunately, Rebecca looked less confident. “I need to think about this and see if I believe you,” she said eventually, grabbing a small device - a pocket mirror, perhaps - that was sitting on the counter. “Give me a few minutes, okay?”

“Okay,” he nodded as Rebecca walked out of the room, leaving Bryn wondering if it would be rude to eat the eggs without her here.


	6. Doubting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which sanity is discussed.

_when are you coming home?_

_developments have occurred_

Rebecca texted Tristan, her index finger tapping the back of her phone nervously while she waited for a reply. She didn’t want to bother him while he was working, but she needed someone to talk to, especially after everything that Jay - well, Bryn, had revealed. Luckily, Tristan wasted no time replying.

_all okay?_

_do you want me to call you?_

Rebecca typed back a quick _yes_ and seconds later, her phone rang. She answered the call and walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower. At the moment, she wasn’t sure whether to believe Bryn or not, especially about magic of all things, but if he was telling the truth, she didn’t want him eavesdropping.

“What’s wrong?” Tristan asked before Rebecca could say anything.

“He was lying, but...I don’t know,” she sighed, “it seems too weird to not be true, but also crazy.”

“I mean, you did meet a ghost last year, so I don’t know anything could be as weird.”

“Magic,” Rebecca answered. “He’s talking about magic and a portal that brought him here. I mean, if he’s telling the truth, it explains why he’s acting so weird, but it’s so implausible.”

“He said a portal brought him here?” Tristan repeated. “Did he have proof? Also, are you running a faucet? I hear water.”

“I’m in the bathroom running the shower so he can’t hear me,” Rebecca explained, though it still sounded paranoid out loud. “Don’t worry, it’s cold water. Bryn said he had some sort of sound magic that gave him super hearing so this will hopefully throw him off.”

“Bryn?”

“Right,” Rebecca nodded, though Tristan couldn’t see. “Jay’s real name is Bryn. Basically, he is the lost prince of a kingdom and is using a fake name so they don’t kill him. He used the fake name in the hospital because he didn’t know where he was.”

“Okay,” Tristan said slowly. “I think you believe him, a little bit.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re in the bathroom with the shower running so he can’t hear you.”

Rebecca sighed as she leaned against the wall. Tristan did have a point. “It’s very hard to wrap my head around,” she admitted eventually. “We’re talking about another world - none of the places he listed exist here.”

“So it’s like the multiverse theory?” Tristan guessed. “I’ve seen a few videos on that.”

“I guess,” Rebecca shrugged. “He’s telling the truth, or at least he believes he is. What do you think?”

Tristan sighed on the other end. “It’s hard to say. I know I want to see some proof, but if you think he’s telling the truth, then he probably is. You’re not usually wrong.”

“But I have been wrong before,” Rebecca argued. “It just feels like a stretch, but on the other hand, it explains a lot if he’s telling the truth,” she frowned, realizing something. “We’re just talking in circles, aren’t we?”

“A little bit, yeah.”

“So we’re going to believe him?” Rebecca asked.

“Hesitantly believe him, I think. It’s better to be cautious,” Tristan said. “Besides, if he is crazy, it’s probably better to have him in the house than on the streets.”

“I suppose so,” Rebecca agreed. “I just hope we aren’t losing our minds.”


	7. Learning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a prince learns about a different world.

Bryn felt overwhelmed, which wasn’t new considering this realm continued to surprise him. 

He was relieved that Rebecca and Tristan believed him, even if they were still somewhat skeptical. Rebecca seemed to believe him enough about his powers that she did something to muddle up the noises she was making earlier so he couldn’t eavesdrop. When Tristan got home later that afternoon, Bryn showed off his magic once again to both of them, which seemed to settle some of their doubts.

Now, Rebecca and Tristan seemed eager to show Bryn new things about their world that he didn’t understand, and in doing so, he learned more about each of them. Tristan was a ‘financial officer,’ which basically meant he managed money, and Rebecca was a writer. She told him about her novels and was encouraged by Tristan to share the details of a ghost adventure she had had. Bryn was somewhat skeptical when it came to ghosts, but if Rebecca and Tristan could believe in magic, he could believe in ghosts.

The days that followed were a blur and overwhelming. Bryn often found himself tired in the middle of the day for no reason at all but was assured that it was probably just because he was healing from his injuries. He had elected to not attempt to use healing magic on his wounds, mostly because he was out of practice and not that good at the magic anyway. Additionally, his sword and his necklace had been returned, thankfully, and Tristan seemed eager to learn about swordsmanship. He also noticed that Rebecca would almost start to ask questions, but would change the subject in some way.

One night, he finally called it out. “What were you going to ask?” Bryn asked Rebecca while she looked at her metal book.

Rebecca shook her head, “It’s nothing.”

“I don’t believe that. I won’t be offended, I promise.”

She sighed, closing the metal book. “The rings on your necklace, those were from your parents, right?” He could hear the unasked question as well - _what happened to his parents?_

Bryn nodded solemnly. “Yes. They passed twelve years ago in the siege. Before I left my mother gave them to me, both so I would have something and so Damiano wouldn’t get his hands on these,” he explained, pulling out the necklace from under his shirt and showing the rings.

“I’m sorry,” Rebecca apologized. “That must have been awful to go through.”

Bryn shook his head. “There’s no need for you to apologize, you didn’t know,” he said, deciding to change the subject to spare Rebecca from whatever guilt she was feeling. “What is that?” He asked, pointing to the metal book.

“This is my laptop, it’s a small computer,” Rebecca explained. “I do most of my writing on here, but it’s also good for research and all sorts of things. It’s like a library, sort of.”

Bryn nodded slowly. “So all the books are in that...metal book?”

“Sort of. They’re on the Internet. You can find anything on the Internet, and I mean anything.”

“Anything?”

“Sure,” Rebecca opened up the laptop and pushed it so Bryn could see as well. “So this is Google, I can type in something and it will give me results, like ‘oldest castle in England’,” she said, and the words appeared on the white part of the laptop.

“How did you do that?” Bryn asked.

“The words? I typed them on the keyboard, it’s like buttons that spell out the letters.”

“Why are they scrambled like that?” He pointed to the keyboard, noting that the letters were not in order. “How do they know what to do?”

“They thought people would go too fast, so they scrambled the letters,” Rebecca shrugged. “So now it’s like this forever. As for the buttons, they’re connected to something else within the computer that tells the computer what to do. Anyways, typing ‘oldest castle in England’ brings up a list of old castles. It’s great for quick research.”

The learning continued in the days that followed. Bryn learned more about the internet, television, automobiles, strange food, and Christmas, which was the holiday the couple were currently celebrating. When he asked for reasons why behind certain traditions, they admitted that there were other reasons but they mostly did it because it was both fun and tradition. 

Bryn was very confused but agreed anyway. It almost felt nice to not have to worry about anyone depending on him for a bit. In fact, he was more dependent on Tristan and Rebecca than he had been on others in years. Of course, this was all due to the strange surroundings, but he eventually fell into a routine.

A few days later, he noticed commotion when he came down the stairs in the morning. Rebecca and Tristan seemed to be cleaning up, but doing it so the house appeared clean. “What’s going on?” He asked.

“My brother is coming,” Rebecca explained quickly. “It’s his first Christmas here, so I want it to be perfect.”

“You have a brother?”

“Yes, Nathan. You’ll like him, he works in law,” Rebecca smiled, but Bryn was still hesitant. 

Tristan noticed Bryn’s look. “You can trust him, but you don’t have to talk about any of the kingdom stuff if you don’t want to. We’ll just tell Nathan the truth, that we hit you with our car-”

“Accidentally,” Rebecca interrupted.

“-accidentally and until you get your memory back, you’re staying with us,” Tristan finished. “He’ll be fine with it.” Suddenly, there was a loud bell sound, which made Bryn jump.

“That’s the doorbell,” Rebecca explained. “Nathan’s here.”

“Is he early?” Tristan asked.

“He’s always early,” Rebecca sighed, walking over to the door and opening it. 

A man, presumably Rebecca’s brother, was standing on the other side, holding a few bags in his arms. He smiled at his sister. “Hope I’m not too early,” he said.

Rebecca scoffed, taking some of the bags from Nathan. “Any earlier and you’ll be up when it’s dark out,” she commented, smiling back. “How was the drive?”

“Not bad. Uneventful is always good,” Nathan shrugged, appearing to perform some sort of hand trick with Tristan followed by a hug, and then a hug to Rebecca before he turned to Bryn. “Who is this?” He asked.

“My name is Bryn,” Bryn answered, extending his arm since he assumed that was the custom. Nathan took Bryn’s hand and shook it once before letting go, so Bryn quickly put down his arm.

“He’s the poor man we accidentally hit on the way home last week,” Rebecca explained, looking somewhat ashamed. 

“You hit someone?” Nathan asked, frowning.

“The storm was very bad,” Tristan explained, “but luckily there were no lasting injuries for Bryn, other than some memory loss. He’s staying with us until they come back.”

“Oh,” Nathan nodded. “Well, that’s very nice of you both, and it’s nice to meet you, Bryn.”

“You as well,” Bryn said, mostly because he felt like he was supposed to say it.

“Now, I was thinking you could unpack a bit, and then we could head into town and explore,” Rebecca suggested as she walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed her mug. “Sound good?”

“Yes, it does,” Nathan agreed. “I can give you some time, I know I’m early.”

“You know you’re always welcome here,” Rebecca smiled at her brother as he headed up the stairs, presumably to the other guest room. She turned to Bryn, lowering his voice. “His former wife showed up last week at dinner, so we’re hoping he has a better time this week.”

“Former wife?” Bryn asked, using his magic to lower the volume of the conversation even more so Nathan couldn’t hear. 

“Nathan is divorced,” Tristan explained. “Turns out his ex-wife only married him for money.”

“Tristan!” Rebecca hissed.

“It’s true, you know it too,” Tristan shrugged. “She showed up at dinner, _very_ drunk, and ruined the night.”

“Okay,” Bryn nodded. “I won’t...mention this lady?” He guessed, looking to both Tristan and Rebecca for confirmation.

Rebecca nodded. “Just don’t ask, I guess. It’s been a hard enough year for him.”

“Got it,” Bryn agreed, still somewhat confused. “How far is this town? Is it a full, or half-day journey?” He asked - he needed to know if they needed to prepare food and lodging once they arrived.

“Oh, no, it’s about fifteen minutes,” Tristan shook his head. “The car will take us there, it’s very fast.”

“The metal contraption?”

“The car,” Rebecca explained. “It’s safe before you worry about it.”

“I know,” Bryn shrugged. “It’s very odd, that’s all.” Just like everything else in this world.


	8. Inviting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which new aquaintances are met.

The town was bustling, which made Rebecca feel even more excited about the upcoming holidays. They were only two days away, and she was happy to be spending it with Tristan, Nathan, and even Bryn. The only thing that was wrong about this perfect picture was her - she wasn’t sure where she caught it, but she hadn’t felt like herself the past few days. Maybe hosting a prince from another dimension had affected her somehow.

Regardless, spending time in the town was something Rebecca enjoyed. Tristan was by her side, seemingly playing tour guide to her brother and Bryn by pointing out the different shops to both of them. She was truly happy, and she slid her hand into his, giving it a squeeze as she held on. Tristan squeezed back, continuing his story about the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, that they had missed the previous week.

Just then, as they passed one of the shops, the door swung open and a woman holding an abnormally large amount of boxes exited. She wasn’t looking where she was going and promptly slammed into Nathan, sending the boxes flying everywhere.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” The woman exclaimed, her accent an interesting mix of Manhattan and Southern. “I should really look where I’m going.”

“It’s not a problem,” Nathan shook his head, bending down and helping the woman pick up the boxes. “Are you okay?”

The woman nodded, chuckling a bit to herself. “I’m fine, I guess I knew I was carrying too many boxes. I just wanted to make only one trip,” she explained as she picked up some of the boxes and stood up.

Nathan stood up as well, holding the remainder of the boxes. “I’m sure we can all relate to that. Do you need help moving them somewhere?”

“Sure do, if you’d be so kind,” the woman nodded, gesturing vaguely in a direction with her body. “My car is right here, so let me just unlock it,” she moved to get her keys from her pocket, which proved difficult.

“Here, let me,” Bryn offered, taking the other boxes off of the woman’s hands.

“Thank you, both,” the woman smiled, unlocking the car and opening the trunk. As Nathan and Bryn put the boxes in, the woman turned to Rebecca and Tristan. “You’re that writer, aren’t you?” She asked, pointing at Rebecca.

“I am,” Rebecca nodded.

“The one who solved the mystery at Bellmare?”

“That’s me,” Rebecca nodded again.

“Oh, I love your books, and I think it’s a real great thing you did solving that other mystery,” the woman smiled. “Now I’m rambling and I’ve completely forgotten to introduce myself. I’m Bernadette Hall,” she said, extending her hand, “I just moved to town, but I’ll be opening a flower shop in the new year.”

Rebecca took Bernadette’s hand and shook it. “It’s very nice to meet you, Bernadette. This is my husband, Tristan, my brother, Nathan, and our friend, Bryn,” she said, gesturing to each man as she introduced them.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Bernadette,” Nathan smiled, extending his hand as well. “You’re opening a flower shop?”

“Mm-hmm,” Bernadette nodded, brushing her blonde hair out of her face. “I used to be part of this Botanical Society back in the city, but I wanted to expand. When I heard there wasn’t a shop here, I knew I had to open one.”

“So you made the move right before Christmas?” Nathan asked.

Bernadette sighed. “I wished it was earlier, but the timing was off with my lease in the city and here. It’s a little harder this year because I’ll be spending Christmas away from my family.”

“So you’ll be alone?” 

“Unfortunately. I know there’s always next year, but there wasn’t enough time between moving in and the shop opening.”

“Why not come have Christmas dinner at our place?” Rebecca suggested, to Nathan and Tristan’s surprise. “It’s the least we can do to welcome you to town.”

“Really?” Bernadette asked. “I don’t want to impose.”

“Nonsense,” Tristan shook his head. “The more the merrier. Nathan can text you the address and everything.”

“I...of course,” Nathan nodded, pulling out his phone and beginning a quieter conversation with Bernadette.

“Are you doing what I think you’re doing?” Tristan asked Rebecca quietly.

She shrugged in response. “It’s harmless, and you’re helping,” she pointed out. “At the very least, she shouldn’t be alone during Christmas.”

Tristan nodded, and the group started to continue on their walk. Rebecca let go of Tristan’s hand and stayed back for a second to check in on Bryn, who was pinching the bridge of his nose. “Are you okay?” She asked him. He had been quiet for a while, so now she was starting to worry.

Bryn shook his head. “It’s a headache, I get them a lot. There’s just a lot going on here.”

Rebecca nodded, grabbing Tristan’s arm. “I’m going to stop by the pharmacy and grab some medicine for Bryn,” she told him. “He’s got a headache.”

Tristan nodded, also noticing Bryn’s state. “Text me when you’re done and I’ll let you know where we are,” he said, giving Rebecca a small smile. “Love you.”

Rebecca felt herself blush despite the cold. “Love you too,” she said as Tristan turned back to Nathan and Bernadette. “Let’s go,” she told Bryn as they walked to the pharmacy, which was only one block over. Bryn followed her quietly, which somewhat reminded her of a lost puppy, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.

The pharmacy’s vibe was a stark contrast to the rest of the town, with cold white walls and small blue accents. Rebecca scanned the aisles until she found the one with for pain medication, then walked down it and looked for the right medicine.

“What is this place?” Bryn asked quietly.

“Oh, right,” Rebecca nodded. “This is a pharmacy, it’s a place that sells medicine and other personal care objects, like soap and makeup. You probably can’t swallow pills, right?”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s okay,” she shook her head, grabbing a bottle and handing it to Bryn. “This is called Tylenol, if you take a dose of it, it should help with your headaches.”

Bryn nodded, seemingly understanding. “Like a potion.”

“Well...” Rebecca started, then hesitated. “You know what? Yeah, like a potion.” He wasn’t wrong, even if it was an odd take.

“So this is a potion shop. You could have just said so,” Bryn shrugged, looking around. “I wonder what other ailments they cure here.”

“You can look around if you want,” Rebecca said. “I’ll just browse for a bit, make sure you find me before you leave so we can pay.”

“Good idea, since I have no means to pay for this potion,” Bryn nodded, turning back to the shelf. He seemed excited to look around, and Rebecca wondered if the simple idea of a pharmacy blew his mind.

While she waited, Rebecca decided to walk through the aisles, mentally checking if there was anything else she needed before they left. The last thing she wanted to do was make a last-minute trip, right before Christmas. However, as she passed the ‘Family Planning’ aisle, she hesitated. She _had_ been feeling off for the past week or so, but...it didn’t seem possible.

But she owed it to herself to double-check, just to be sure.

She grabbed one of the boxes tentatively, reading the label as Bryn walked up to her. She hoped that he didn’t notice the box she was holding. Unfortunately, he did, and she saw his eyes widen as he read the packaging. “What is-”

“It is what you think it is,” Rebecca cut him off. “Please don’t tell Tristan, I don’t want to get his hopes up for nothing.”

“But…” Bryn trailed off, and she noticed he did something with his hand - magic, perhaps. “Do you think you’re pregnant?”

“I don’t know,” Rebecca sighed, “but I’ve been feeling off the past few days, and it _could_ happen. Just...please don’t tell him, okay? I don’t want him to be excited and then for it to be nothing,” she explained, deciding to grab a second box for good measure.

“Okay,” Bryn nodded. “I didn’t know they could test for that.”

“They can, science is really advanced now,” Rebecca shrugged as they walked to the checkout counter. “It makes everything a lot easier.”

“I can see that,” Bryn said, placing four bottles of liquid Tylenol on the checkout counter. “If this potion works, I will want to bring it back with me,” he explained.

“It does expire,” Rebecca pointed out. 

“Expire?”

“It goes bad after,” she picked up one of the bottles and looked at the date, “three years, give or take a few months.”

“Why does it go bad? Typically potions last a while,” Bryn frowned. “So many unnecessary rules here.” 

Rebecca shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you, it is what it is.”

“Huh,” Bryn shrugged as well, watching silently as Rebecca paid for the medicine. Once she had paid, they walked to one of the unused checkout counters and Rebecca opened one of the Tylenol bottles. She _had_ paid for it, after all. Carefully, she poured the medicine into the measuring cup, opting to go a little under the line since this was Bryn’s first time with medicine.

Once it was poured, she carefully handed it to Bryn. “It won’t taste good, so I recommend you drink it fast,” she advised.

Bryn frowned as he examined the tiny cup in his hand. “I didn’t expect it to be this red.”

“It’s cherry-flavored.”

“Ah,” Bryn nodded, raising the cup up and drinking it in one go. He gagged after he had swallowed it, looking at the cup once again. “That did _not_ taste like cherries.”

“It never does,” Rebecca shook her head sadly.


	9. Failing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which frustration builds.

Bryn was reaching a dead end.

He didn’t want to stay here forever - sure, Rebecca and Tristan were nice, but every day spent here was a day that he couldn’t help everyone back home. This was evident in his dreams, which were acting up again. In the worst one, he saw Sacha, Hermes, even King Sidrus’s bodies among the thousands littered on the ground, all with a clear message - Bryn should have been there to prevent this.

It was all on him. 

It _had_ to be on him.

And now he was trapped with no way home, letting everyone down.

Originally, he had thought that being here was nice, that it was a way to escape the pressures he had put on himself, but now he realized that he could not find a way home. Rebecca had lent him her metal book, but none of the searches he did yielded any answers. They were always about other realms he had never heard of, with solutions that were not even remotely feasible.

Bryn had thought about trying to recreate the spell Adena had used, but the sorceress was right - he barely had any training, and his power management needed a lot of work. On top of that, he could barely remember the spell Adena used. If only he had paid more attention to her, or in class. If only he had stopped her from using that spell in the first place.

He sat up in the bed, rubbing his face. There wasn’t an answer that he could find - _this_ was why he wasn’t the strategist.

At the moment, his only options were to try and go back to sleep or continue to think, and Bryn opted for the second option. He got out of bed and went downstairs, using his magic to minimize the noise he was making so he wouldn’t wake anyone else up.

When he got down to the main area, he was surprised to see Rebecca seated on the couch, looking once again at her metal lap book. He did his best to be quiet, but she looked up and noticed him, almost jumping out of her seat.

“I didn’t hear you come down,” she remarked. “Do you need more Tylenol?”

“No, I just…couldn’t sleep,” he shrugged.

“Me neither. Sometimes I just get an idea and it needs to be written. I came down here so I wouldn’t bother Tristan.”

“For your stories?” Bryn asked.

Rebecca nodded, closing the book. “Sometimes it isn’t good, but I think this one is. What’s bugging you?”

“What?”

“Sorry, what’s bothering you? You seem...upset,” Rebecca phrased the question delicately. 

Bryn sighed. “I’m not sure you would understand. I’ve just been trying to figure it out...it’s a lot of magic stuff.”

“Well,” Rebecca said, patting the spot next to her as an invitation to sit down. “I don’t...understand much about magic but I’m good at ideas. It might be good to get a second opinion.”

Bryn nodded hesitantly and sat down next to Rebecca. “I need to find a way to go back, but I don’t know how. I’ve looked at your..book,” he gestured to the closed metal lap book on her lap, “but there are no answers that can help me.”

“Okay,” Rebecca nodded. “Let’s break the problem down. Who sent you here?”

“Adena, she’s a sorceress who only helped me when she realized who I truly was,” Bryn answered. “She said she didn’t like ‘Jay Chauncey’ but liked the Raolins.”

“So her motivations were to protect you.”

“She said Vravia needed a king,” Bryn shrugged. “So it was directed at me - I don’t think anyone else would have been able to join the spell.”

“Okay, so what did the spell look like?”

“Like smoke, it was surrounding me until I was here.”

“When you showed up in the forest,” Rebecca nodded, tapping the metal book absent-mindedly. “I’m guessing you wouldn’t be stuck if you knew the spell.”

Bryn sighed. “I don’t have a clue. Her spells are very advanced and rare, it comes with the territory, I suppose.”

“Territory?”

“She’s probably around two hundred years old, I’ve never worked up the courage to ask her,” Bryn shrugged. “I don’t feel any closer.”

“Sorry,” Rebecca sighed. “At the very least, it’s helping me understand the issue better, so I can help.”

“I just...I don’t know what to do, and people are _relying_ on me and I can’t help them from here. Maybe I’m paranoid but I keep having these dreams where something bad happens because I was too late and I wasn’t there to prevent it from happening.”

It was all too much - the memories, the dreams, the stress - and Bryn felt something _snap_ , then heard something shatter. He winced as Rebecca stood up to investigate the noise, fearing that something had gone wrong.

“It’s just a lightbulb,” Rebecca said calmly after she got back. “Sometimes they explode, it’s perfectly normal,” she explained as she sat back down, though Bryn couldn’t help but flinching when she did. “It’s not your fault.”

“It is,” Bryn groaned, putting his head in his hands. “Sometimes it just slips out.”

“It’s just an accident,” Rebecca shrugged, putting her hand on his shoulder. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Bryn let out a shaky breath. “I can’t let them down,” he said eventually.

“You won’t. One way or another, I promise I’ll help you find your way back.”

“Why?”

“It’s the right thing to do,” Rebecca said. “If the roles were reversed, I’m sure you would help me, even if I were burned at the stake for being a witch.”

“We don’t do that, execution is usually by beheading,” Bryn shook his head. “Also we don’t call them that, they’re sorceresses.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Bryn looked up at Rebecca. “You didn’t know. Thank you for your help, I’m sorry for the mess.”

“Do you feel any better?” Rebecca asked, her concern clear on her face.

Bryn shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m glad I told someone else about it.”


	10. Solving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a solution is found.

Christmas morning brought all of the excitement it used to for Rebecca, without having to wake up at the earliest hour. Sleeping in with Tristan was a gift within itself, especially since she had been up late with Bryn, and she rolled over to face her husband, who was half-awake.

“Morning,” Tristan mumbled, smiling at Rebecca.

Rebecca smiled back. “Morning. Merry Christmas,” she said, leaning in and giving him a quick kiss.

“I wish we didn’t have company,” Tristan admitted. “Don’t get me wrong, I like your brother and Bryn, but it’s nice when it’s the two of us.”

Rebecca nodded. “It’s nice when we can get an extra hour, too,” she told him as Tristan wrapped his arms around her. There was something so nice and intimate about this moment that Rebecca wanted to live in it forever.

And then, the sound of crashing pots and pans rang out throughout the house, bringing the couple back to reality.

Tristan groaned. “Nathan is an early bird, right.”

Rebecca groaned as well. “I guess we’re getting up, then.”

The couple got up and ready for the day. When Tristan went downstairs to help Nathan with whatever it was he was doing, Rebecca sneaked away to take the second pregnancy test she had bought. She had gotten a result the previous day, but she needed to be sure before she told anyone. Part of her figured she would tell Tristan about it regardless - they both wanted kids and talked about having them one day, but they had never nailed down timelines.

Rebecca got her result, just as expected, and mentally filed the information away before hiding the evidence. She would need to find time to talk to Tristan today, but it would probably have to wait until later. Christmas was hectic enough.

Nathan, Tristan, and Rebecca all exchanged gifts in the morning, then ate breakfast once Bryn joined them. Rebecca felt bad that she didn’t have a present for him, but Bryn assured her that it was fine, since he didn’t celebrate the holiday anyway. After breakfast, they began cooking Christmas dinner. Tristan was carefully asking Nathan questions about Bernadette, her brother none the wiser to her husband’s true intentions. Rebecca was fairly impressed with Bryn while they were cooking - he was probably very confused, but he asked questions and caught on quickly. He even seemed to be enjoying the activity, something that made Rebecca’s heart warm. 

Hours later, dinner was ready, and all they needed to do was wait for Bernadette to arrive. While they were waiting, Rebecca found herself alone with Tristan in the kitchen. He was drying dishes, and caught her staring at him. “What?” He asked, grinning.

“Nothing, I’m just happy, that’s all,” Rebecca answered honestly.

“Well, if you’re happy, I’m happy,” Tristan smiled, putting away the last dish and flinging the dishtowel over his shoulder. “Something tells me that there’s something else.”

“Oh, you’re good,” Rebecca blushed as Tristan leaned in.

“I learned from the very best,” Tristan shrugged, a smug look on his face.

“Well, I do actually have something to tell you,” Rebecca said, only to be interrupted by the doorbell.

Tristan sighed, grabbing the dish towel and putting it away. “Later?” He asked.

“Later,” Rebecca confirmed.

Bernadette was all smiles when she entered the house. She greeted everyone warmly, but Nathan even more so. Tristan whispered to her that Nathan had been texting Bernadette over the past few days, and the two seemed to hit it off. Rebecca was delighted at the idea, especially since Bernadette seemed like a decent person. The feast went off without a hitch, everyone getting along and conversing - even Bryn, who added in tidbits when he understood.

Currently, the table was discussing new technology. “I’ve got a fingerprint scanner, and that’s good enough for me,” Nathan shrugged. “I don’t need to be fancy.”

“I think a fingerprint scanner _is_ fancy,” Tristan argued. “You don’t know what they’re doing with that information. I prefer a passcode, at least that’s not always attributed to me.”

“Did you see the newest thing?” Bernadette asked. “It scans your face to unlock the phone. Isn’t that crazy? What if you look different, or get punched in the face?”

“So it only unlocks for you?” Rebecca asked. “How does it tell?”

“Probably by saving a copy of your face. It does the same with the fingerprint,” Nathan shrugged.

Rebecca nodded, thinking about that for a second, she turned to Bryn and remembered the magic he used to hide his identity, _magic_ that was only attributed to him.

An idea clicked.

“Bryn, can you help me in the kitchen?” Rebecca asked, standing up. Bryn followed her cautiously, frowning.

“What do you need help with?” He asked.

Rebecca shook her head. “This isn’t about you helping me, it’s me helping you. When you use magic, it’s obvious it’s yours, right?”

Bryn nodded. “Yes, but I don’t see where you’re going with this.”

“Well, you might not have gotten the conversation, but I did,” Rebecca continued. “If magic has a fingerprint, a unique quality about it for every person, it’s identifiable.”

“Okay...” Bryn crossed his arms, listening.

“So you said that the sorceress, Ade-”

“Adena.”

“Adena did her magic so only you would come here, what if she did the same thing for a way back? The way back is something _only_ you can find so no one else stumbles into your world.”

Bryn nodded slowly, and Rebecca could almost see the gears working in his head. “She would have hidden it in the same spot so I could find it, but cloaked it from normal view,” he explained, his eyes lighting up. “All I have to do is uncloak it, we need to go.”

“Wait, now?” Rebecca asked, shocked.

“We don’t know how much longer the magic will last. I doubt it’s a forever spell, probably temporary in case I died over here,” Bryn explained. “Can you secure us transportation to where you hit me with your metal contraption?” He asked.

“I...I can. I will, I’ll ask Tristan,” Rebecca nodded. “Go grab your items,” she said, walking back to the dinner table while Bryn headed upstairs.

“Everything okay?” Tristan asked, frowning as Rebecca approached.

“Sort of,” Rebecca shrugged. “We need to go, Bryn...remembered something,” she said vaguely to go along with Bryn’s cover story.

“Is he alright?” Nathan asked.

“He is, he’s feeling better now that he has a better idea of who he is,” Rebecca answered. “Are you two okay with being here alone for a bit?”

“Oh, I’m sure we’ll manage,” Bernadette smiled, exchanging a glance with Nathan. “Just make sure your friend is alright.”


	11. Returning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a departure occurs.

Bryn wasn’t sure how fast the metal contraption was moving, but he hoped it was fast enough. The portal, _if_ there was a portal, probably wouldn’t stay open for much longer, especially if it was there for however long he’d been in this realm. He was thankful he had asked Rebecca for help because he definitely would have overlooked the uniqueness of magic.

Adena preferred using an older style of magic, which wasn’t studied much when he was in school. Many of her spells focused on the unique type of magic each holder had, and that unique touch that could be identified. He had only learned about this briefly from Cyril in a very high-level discussion, but he knew that it was something that older sorceresses preferred. It made sense that Adena would use this to protect anyone from following him into this realm.

“How will we know where to stop?” Rebecca asked Tristan, who was steering the contraption. Bryn had offered to steer the contraption himself but was quickly shut down since he did not possess a ‘license’ to steer it.

“I remember the mile marker, it should be near there,” Tristan answered, focusing on his steering.

Rebecca turned in her seat to face Bryn. “Are you sure you have everything?” He had changed back into the clothes he arrived in and had been given a bag from Rebecca to hold the potions. “I don’t know if we should rush this.”

“We don’t know how much longer Adena’s spell will last,” Bryn explained. “It’s better to be safe than sorry,” he added, as a terrible thought crossed his mind - what happened to the portal if Adena was captured, or killed? All the more reason to hurry to return home.

“Okay,” Rebecca nodded, frowning. “I’m just worried, that’s all.”

“It should be fine,” Bryn assured her, though he was only half-hopeful himself. If this didn’t work, he wasn’t sure what he’d do.

The metal contraption slowed down next to a forest. It was daytime now, so the forest looked different. Bryn hoped it was the same one.

“Is this it?” Rebecca asked. “I don’t recognize it.”

“It’s the side of a road?” Tristan shrugged. “I don’t think you will recognize it.”

Rebecca shrugged as well, exiting the contraption and opening up a door so Bryn could exit as well. The snow from the previous days had melted mostly and was now just a light dusting on top of the grass. Bryn led the way forward, though he had no real instincts of where to go. The only clue he had was magic, so he did his best to _feel_ for the magic. He knew Cyril could do it, so there must be a way for him to do it as well.

After a minute or so of feeling nothing, it occurred to Bryn that the magic might be further hidden from detection than he previously thought. If Adena had gone through all this trouble to hide the portal in the first place, she would have prevented it from being detectable by magic. He raised his hands in front of him and focused, casting a non-verbal spell. Bryn generally preferred non-verbal spells since magic was illegal, but it also prevented any embarrassment if he cast the spell wrong.

Luckily, the spell casting was correct and he could feel the familiar hum of magic ahead of him. Rebecca had been right about Adena hiding the portal so only he could find it.

“It’s this way,” he turned to tell the couple, who had been following him a few steps behind.

Bryn ventured forward, now seeing the portal clearly. It was in a clearing, and the smoke was faint but visible. Adena likely only meant for Bryn to stay for one or two days in this world, which was why the smoke was so faint now, but he was grateful for all of the time he spent with Rebecca and Tristan.

“Is that it?” Rebecca asked.

Bryn nodded. “It is.”

Rebecca nodded as well. “Then I suppose this is goodbye,” she said sadly. Tristan looked sad as well.

“I am so thankful for both of you,” Bryn said truthfully. “I don’t know what would have happened if I had not met you.”

“We’re glad to have met you as well,” Tristan said as Rebecca nodded. “As much as we wish you could stay…”

“You belong back there,” Rebecca finished. “You’re going to do great things,” she assured him, pulling him into a hug that Tristan joined as well.

“Thank you,” Bryn said again. The whole affair was bittersweet as he pulled away from the hug and stepped back. “I...I don’t know if I will ever be able to venture back here,” he admitted.

“It’s okay,” Rebecca nodded, “but if you do, our home is always open to you,” she told him, smiling.

Bryn nodded once again, taking the couple and this world in for the final time before stepping closer to the portal until the smoke blocked his vision once again.

When the smoke cleared, he saw that he was at Fort Rogue, which looked the same as it always did. “That’s a relief,” he mumbled as he started to head inside, then thought better of it and applied his magic disguise.

Sacha looked up from the table she was sitting at, her face breaking into a huge grin. “Bryn!” She exclaimed, running over and giving him a hug. “I was so worried, I feared the worst when I hadn’t heard anything.”

“Someone set me up,” Bryn explained. “It’s a long story, but I’m glad to be back.”

Sacha nodded. “Just in time, as well. I’m worried about Hermes, he’s never been much of a fighter and he’s leading the forces-” 

“Forces?” 

Sacha paled. “You don’t know, do you? Sivalon is preparing to attack Zarenwan. They’re on the border of Vravia and Zarenwan, and fast advancing. Hermes has gone with some rebellion members to help the king.” 

Bryn didn’t know what to say, feeling both overwhelmed and angry. “We have to win,” he said desperately. “We lose Zarenwan, we lose, period.” 

“I know, and we will,” Sacha assured him, “but morale’s been down, especially since people think you’ve been dead or captured.” 

“I need to be there,” Bryn nodded, walking through the base until he arrived at the back room where he kept his belongings, depositing his bag of potions there. “Are you with me?” 

“Always,” Sacha nodded. “Aren’t you going to tell me what happened?”

Bryn smiled to himself, thinking of the time spent in the other realm. “I’ll tell you on the way.”


	12. Concluding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a story comes to an end.

As the magic portal closed and Bryn left their view, Rebecca wondered what kind of world she lived in since _magic portals_ were now normal. Two weeks ago, she would have thought that the idea of magic was crazy, and she had a conversation with a ghost. There was something sad about it, in a way, since she knew she would likely never see Bryn again. 

Tristan placed his arm around her, giving her a half-hug and interrupting her thoughts. “I hope he’ll be alright.”

“I think he will,” Rebecca nodded, leaning into the hug. “He’s a good kid, and he’ll be a great king. Can you believe I just said that, and not about a fictional character?”

“We live extraordinary lives, what can I say?” Tristan shrugged. “You know, we did a good job.”

“Of what?” Rebecca asked.

“Of taking care of him and stuff,” Tristan pointed out. “I think we’ll be great parents one day,” he assured her, smiling.

Rebecca couldn’t help but smile back at her husband. “About that…” she trailed off.

Tristan pulled away from the hug only so he could look her in the eyes. “Do you know something I don’t?”

Rebecca nodded, smiling. She didn’t even have to tell Tristan - he knew it when he saw her face. He broke out into a grin and hugged her tight. “I can’t believe it! When did you find out?”

“This morning, I double-checked,” Rebecca grinned, hugging Tristan back. “I know we didn’t plan it, but...I want this.”

“Me too,” Tristan smiled, kissing Rebecca on the head as he held her tight. “Wait until your brother hears about this.”

“Maybe we should keep this between us, just for now,” Rebecca suggested. “I have a feeling he’s a little busy with someone else at the moment.”

Tristan chuckled at the idea. “Wait, so what was that thing you wanted to tell me earlier?”

“It was this. A bonus present, I suppose,” Rebecca mused, thinking a bit about the future. This time next year, they would be a family of three instead of two, and stronger than ever. “Merry Christmas, Tristan.”

“Merry Christmas, Rebecca.”


End file.
